Wild Acres weighs in on verdict in animal cruelty case

Yesterday, the Saucier couple charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty was found not guilty on all 107 counts.

Sharon and Daniel Bertok were arrested and charged in 2020 after more than one hundred animals were found living on their property in what Harrison County law enforcement called ‘deplorable conditions.’

After being found not guilty, the couple will be receiving 21 of their animals back which includes two birds, a pale fox, marmoset, and 17 dogs.

Wild Acres Owner Cody Breland took care of the two birds that will now be returned back to the Bertoks.

Breland tells News 25 he is afraid for the birds to return back to those living conditions. “They are going to be crammed back into cramped cages, pushed in corners with two people who clearly could not provide the care they needed to in the first place. So, I think that’s really stressful and really sad. Honestly it’s really sad to me because I have watched these birds thrive in an open, very clean, nice environment every single day and to know that they can experience freedom like this and then be turned around and put back where they came from. It is heartbreaking, honestly.”

Breland says although the case is over, he will continue to fight for the birds.